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Research Foundation Regular Employees
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The Research Foundation for SUNY (RF) offers an array of benefits to eligible employees. These benefits can add an exceptional value to your employment.
Open Enrollment Dates
The open enrollment period for health benefits, voluntary short-term disabiliity insurance and Flexible Spending Accounts is Nov. 1 — Nov. 30, 2024.
Make your changes online at www.rfsuny.org/selfservice. Changes will take effect January 1, 2025.
Please be sure to retain a copy of your confirmation statement when completing your enrollment.
How To Enroll In Your Benefits
When your department has submitted your appointment information to Human Resources you will receive notification from Human Resources about your benefits eligibility and upcoming benefit orientation sessions.
Enrollment is voluntary — you will not be automatically enrolled in a plan. You will need to attend a benefits orientation session to enroll. Once you have attended a benefits orientation you will be able to enroll online at the RF SUNY website.
Newly eligible employees must enroll within 60 days of their appointment begin date. If you do not attend a session and do not enroll within 60 days of your appointment begin date, you may be subject to a late enrollment period, which would delay your benefits.
You will have the following waiting periods for your benefits:
| Benefit | Waiting Period |
|---|---|
| Health Insurance | 42 Days |
| Dental Insurance | 6 Months |
| Dental Insurance (Prosthetic Services) | 1 Year |
| Vision Insurance | 6 Months |
| Life Insurance (Basic and Optional) | 6 Months |
| Flexible Spending Accounts | 6 Months |
| Retirement Plan (Basic) | 1 Year |
| Retirement Plan (Optional) | No Waiting Period |
| New York State Disability | 28 Days |
| Voluntary Short Term Disability Insurance | 28 Days |
| Long Term Disablity Insurance (Fulltime employees only) | 1 Year |
| Workers Compensation | No Waiting Period |
Welcome back to the RF. If you are returning after a break in service longer than 28 days you will need to reenroll in benefits withing 60 days of your return date. You may enroll in your benefits at the RF SUNY website.
Depending on the length of your break in service and if you had qualified for the benefit when you left you will have different waiting periods for your benefits as shown below:
| If Your Break In Service Was Greater than 28 Days but Less Than 1 Year | |
|---|---|
| Benefits | Waiting Period |
| Dental | No Waiting Period |
| Vision | No Waiting Period |
| Life Insurance (Basic and Optional) | No Waiting Period |
| Flexible Spending Accounts | No Waiting Period |
| Your sick time balances will be honored. Please contact your benefits office to notify us of your return. | |
RF SUNY Self Service
The RF Employee Self Service portal is where you can manage most of your employment tasks online. Start by setting up your account:
- Go to account set up
- Using the RF ID Number you were given when you were employed, create a password
The Research Foundation Employee Self Service portal offers many features:
- Ability to quickly and accurately do tasks online, such as:
- Enroll for benefits
- Enter dependents and beneficiaries
- Update your contact information
- Easy access to your direct deposit payslips, paycheck stubs, tax forms and current benefits enrollment
Your Benefits
Disability Insurance
The Research Foundation provides the following income protection programs when you are disabled and unable to work.
New York State Short Term Disability
Under New York State Law, the RF provides this off-the-job illness or injury benefit and pays all employees the full cost of the coverage. In the event of a disability, you will begin receiving income replacement after you have exhausted your sick leave accruals. After a seven-calendar-day waiting period or the exhaustion of your sick leave accruals (whichever is greater), you receive 50 percent of your average salary for the eight weeks before disability, up to the maximum benefit established under the New York State Disability Benefits Law, currently $170 per week. You can receive benefits for up to a maximum of 26 weeks.
The health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits in effect when you become disabled will be continued for the period during which partial income replacement is received through New York State Disability insurance, subject to the terms of those plans.
If your disability absence exceeds seven calendar days, contact us to get the documents and information necessary to obtain disability income.
You and your physician should complete a New York State Disability Claim Form (DB-450) and file it with your campus Benefits Office. The DB-450 can be obtained from Human Resources.
Voluntary Short Term Disability
The Research Foundation offers eligible employees the option to purchase additional short-term disability coverage, through First Reliance, beyond those provided by the New York State Disability Benefits Law (DBL). You may purchase a weekly benefit in $100 increments, at most 60% of your salary. Your benefit is offset by the benefits provided by New York State Disability (DBL). You can receive income replacement benefits for up to 26 weeks.
An employee working at least 50 percent of full time on a regular appointment and whose annual salary is at least $15,000 is eligible to enroll in the plan.
Suppose you enroll for the plan within your first 60 days of benefits eligibility. In that case, you are guaranteed coverage without medical examinations or questions and will not be subject to any pre-existing condition exclusions. If you enroll in the plan after becoming benefits-eligible, you must apply for the coverage by submitting a completed Benefits Enrollment form and Voluntary Short-Term Disability Enrollment Form.
Long Term Disability
Long-term disability provides partial income replacement for a certified total disability that prevents you from working for more than six months. Insurance is provided through First Reliance. Full-time, regular employees are eligible for long-term disability benefits. These benefits are paid in full by the Research Foundation and begin on the first day following 180 consecutive days of a certified total disability (or when full sick leave payments end, if later) and ensure a monthly income on a long-term basis.
Coverage begins on the first day following one year of full-time service, and there is no need to enroll for this benefit. You will receive 60 percent of your regular monthly salary up to a maximum of $7,500 per month (this amount is offset by other income such as disability insurance, Workers’ Compensation, and actual or estimated Social Security benefits).
Contact an Expert
Zachary Jenney
Manager
Research Foundation Benefit Services
Phone: 716-645-4439
Email: zjenney@buffalo.edu
Manage Your Benefits
After you've made your initial benefits selections, whether you have declined any of our coverage options or not, there are some special circumstances in which you can make changes to your pretax benefits. For your health insurance, and dental insurance you will need a qualifying event to make changes without penalty. You may change your vision care coverage anytime during the year.
A qualifying event is a change in your status or your dependent’s status that permits a change to be made in pretax health insurance elections outside of the annual Open Enrollment period. The change in status must result in a gain or loss of coverage or coverage options. The election change must be consistent with the change in status, and must be made within 60 days of the event. To make changes to your benefits any time other than open enrollment you will need to submit an RF Benefits Enrollment Form to the benefits team along with supporting documentation of your qualifying event. (e.g. birth certificate, marriage license, statement of loss of insurance)
You have 60 days from the day of any qualifying event or special enrollment period to submit the necessary documentation.
You may also make changes to your health insurance, dental insurance, vision care coverage, and flexible spending accounts during open enrollment for the following plan year.
Qualifying Events
The most common qualifying events that you might have are a change in status that affects your, your spouse’s or dependents’ coverage, including a change in:
- Legal marital status because of marriage, death of a spouse, divorce, legal separation or annulment
- Number of dependents because of birth, adoption, placement for adoption or death
- Employment status (termination or commencement of employment) by you, your spouse or
dependent - Work schedule (reduction or increase in hours of employment) for you, your spouse or dependent because of a switch between part time and full time, or commencement of or return from an unpaid leave of absence that results in acquiring or losing eligibility for health insurance
- Dependents’ status (an event that causes your dependent to satisfy or cease to satisfy the requirements for coverage because of attainment of age or any similar circumstances as provided by the plan)
- Residence or work site (for you, your spouse or dependent)
Special Enrollment Rights
Apart from qualifying events, special enrollment rights allow you to make changes to your medical (PPO or HMO) coverage (but not Dental Care, Vision Care or Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts), outside of your initial enrollment period or the Open Enrollment period in three specific circumstances: 1. you gain a dependent, 2. you or a dependent loses coverage under another plan, and 3. you or a dependent becomes eligible for assistance through a State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Gaining a Dependent
If you gain a dependent through marriage (e.g., your new spouse and any eligible stepchildren), birth, adoption or placement for adoption, you may enroll the new dependents — and yourself if you are not already enrolled — in the Health Care plan by complying with the plan’s procedures for other enrollments. In the case where a child is born, adopted or placed for adoption, your spouse also may be enrolled during such a special enrollment period. You also may change from one Health Care plan coverage option to another (for example, changing from HMO to PPO coverage) when you add a dependent under a special enrollment. The special enrollment period for dependents is the 60-day period that begins on the date of the marriage, birth, adoption or placement for adoption, as applicable.
In the case of marriage, coverage is effective the date the completed request for enrollment is received by the plan. In the case of a dependent’s birth, coverage is effective the date of the birth. In the case of adoption or placement for adoption, coverage is effective the date of such adoption or placement.
Losing Other Medical Coverage
If you waived coverage for yourself or for an eligible dependent because you or the dependent had other medical coverage (including coverage from another employer, COBRA coverage, Medicare or Medicaid), you may enroll in the RF Health Care plan in certain circumstances including, but not limited to, the following:
• The other coverage was COBRA continuation coverage, and the coverage period was exhausted
• The other employer terminates the coverage or terminates contributions for that coverage
• You or your dependent loses eligibility for that coverage for reasons including termination of employment, reduction in work hours, legal separation, divorce, death or reaching the maximum age to be eligible as a dependent
• You or your dependent no longer lives or works inside the plan’s service area, and no other benefit package is available
• You incur a claim that would meet or exceed the lifetime limit on all benefits under the plan
• You or your dependent loses coverage because the plan no longer offers any benefits to a class of similarly situated individuals (e.g., part-time employees).
Losing coverage for not paying premiums on a timely basis or for cause (such as making a fraudulent claim or an intentional misrepresentation of a material fact) would not qualify an individual for a special enrollment.
You must enroll within 60 days after the other coverage ends. The application must be made under the same application rules that apply to other enrollments. If elected, coverage begins on the first day of the calendar month that begins after the date that the completed request is received by the plan.
Becoming Eligible Under a State Children's Health Insurance Program
If you are eligible for the RF Health Care plan, but you are unable to afford the premiums, you may qualify for premium assistance from the State of New York. If you are not currently enrolled in the plan, you may request a special enrollment within 60 days of being determined eligible for this premium assistance.
Some states, including New York, use funds from their Medicaid or CHIP programs to help people who are eligible for employer-sponsored health coverage, but need assistance in paying their health premiums.
If you or your dependents are already enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP and you live in New York, you can contact your State Medicaid or CHIP office to find out if premium assistance is available.
If you or your dependents are NOT currently enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP, and you think you or any of your dependents might be eligible for either of these programs, you can contact your State Medicaid or CHIP office, dial 877-KIDS NOW (877-543-7669) or visit www.insurekidsnow.gov to find out how to apply. If you qualify, you can ask the state if it has a program that might help you pay health plan premiums.
For more information about Medicaid and CHIP premium assistance, contact the New York State
Department of Health at 800-541-2831 or visit www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/.
Health Care (PPO and HMO)
If you delay enrollment more than 60 days after you become eligible, you must wait an additional five pay periods in active employment to be covered (unless you have a special enrollment right or qualifying event). Your coverage will start on the first day of the fifth pay period following the day your campus Benefits Office receives the completed Enrollment form, or online enrollment through Self Service. Example of Late Health Care Plan Enrollment 2015
Appointment/eligibility date: January 9
42-day waiting period ends: February 20
60-day enrollment period: January 9 – March 10
Enrollment received: March 20
Date of coverage: May 18
Dental and Vision Care
If you delay enrollment in the Dental and Vision Care plans beyond 60 days from your date of eligibility and you have met the six-month waiting period, your coverage becomes effective on the day your campus Benefits Office receives the completed RF Benefits Enrollment form or online enrollment via Self Service. Your deductions for dental coverage will be taken on an after-tax basis for the remainder of the calendar year.
Open Enrollment occurs each year in November. During this time you may enroll if you have not previously done so, drop coverage, change your coverage option or level, and/or switch between pretax and after-tax deductions. All open enrollment changes are done througth RF Employee Self Service and are effective January 1st of the following year.
If you do not make any changes during Open Enrollment, your coverage will remain in effect for the next plan year, except for Flexible Spending Accounts. You must re-enroll annually in the Flexible Spending Accounts.